Because I go to several film festivals each year, I get to watch the finest feature films under the best of technical circumstances (perfect projection, tip-top-sound) and with the most attuned and responsive audiences in the world — i.e., journalists, distributors and filmmakers.

It doesn’t get much better than that, but the quality plummets when you sink into the realm of commercial cinemas and ticket-buyers. And I guess I’m wondering if viewing conditions will be any better in theatres, or will the slovenly gorilla factor take over exhibition entirely?

It’s not a reach to say that 25 or 50 years hence, Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther will be the only 2018 Best Picture contender to be routinely referenced by film historians. Respect, admire, like or love it, there’s no question it’ll be regarded as one of the most important 21st Century films ever made. Because it became a major cultural game-changer, and because the scale of its financial success made history.

Snapped on 12.1, the Arc de Triumph image was taken by Veronique de Viguerie of Getty Images. What are the Parisian protests about? Emmanuel Macron’s intention to impose a “carbon tax” on petrol and diesel with the aim of funding changes that will try to remedy climate change and transition the French economy to green energy. But rural French workers are fuming as they will bear the brunt of the tax, and will be forced to pay a higher percentage of their income on fuel.

A couple of weeks ago I explained that I have a mild basal-cell carcinoma problem that will require surgical removal. That surgery is slated for tomorrow morning around 10 am. I’ll be under a general anasthetic. I probably won’t be filing until the late afternoon, if that. Not a biggie (basal cell skin cancers are benign) but has to be done.

In Stanley Kubrick‘s Paths of Glory (’57), Kirk Douglas played a French military officer who defends four French soldiers accused of cowardice under fire, and who were facing a death penalty. The film was shot in Bavaria, Germany. Four years later Douglas repeated this experience. In Gottfried Reinhardt‘s Town Without Pity, which was also shot in Bavaria, Douglas played a military officer who defends four American G.I.’s accused of raping a local girl, and who were also facing a death penalty.

Kubrick’s film is brilliant, of course — arguably the finest anti-war film of the 20th Century. And it boasts one of Douglas’s best performances. But the first two-thirds of Town With Pity, which I streamed this evening, are rough going. It’s basically a crude and rather cruel exploitation film — clunky dialogue, on-the-nose acting, a leering tone, occasional passages that feel almost amateurish.

The last third, however, is shattering. The rape victim (played by the late Christine Kaufmann) is put through the ringer and essentially raped a second time during Douglas’s cross-examination. The pitch-black finale is delivered straight and cold, over and out.

This is a terrible thing to say, but for the first time in my life Bruce Springsteen is talking like an old guy. A guy who isn’t paying close attention, I mean, and is sounding a bit out-of-it. I’m referring to his Sunday Times Magazine quote, to wit: “I don’t see anyone out there at the moment…the man who can beat Trump, or the woman who can beat Trump.” I was thinking the same thing two or three months ago, but no longer.

Clint Eastwood‘s The Mule opens in 11 days (if you’re counting evening shows on Thursday, 12.13), and Warner Bros. won’t even screen it for critics groups about to vote. Guys who routinely see films a couple of weeks ahead of commercial opening are hearing nothing but “radio silence” from WB publicists when they call and ask.

I’ve heard that The Mule had a recent research screening and one for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and that a few elites saw it two or three weeks ago. The word all along has been that Eastwood’s crime flick is better than pretty good but not in an award-qualifying way. Fine, no worries, but why are they hiding it? I’m guessing that all-media showings will happen early next week (i.e., Monday or Tuesday), although HE colleague Jordan Ruimy says he’s been told “there will be no advance press screenings of The Mule in Boston.”

There’s a bit of a mild racial rumpus going on right now, about what some are interpreting as overly crude and highly negative depictions of Hispanic “bad hombre” drug dealers. You know what that probably means — Clint hired some Latino guys to play drug dealers, he asked them to behave all snarly and ferocious, and now “woke” storm troopers are probably going to start crying racism and whatnot. We’re living in an age of mass hysteria, but then you know that.

I’m told that the Hispanic bad guy depictions are no biggie, and that what Eastwood has done isn’t much different from most drug dramas. Three years ago it probably wouldn’t be an issue at all. Obviously today is another story.

I think it’s wrong to compose a Top 32 films of 2018 list without having seen The Mule or Aquaman, but here goes anyway. This isn’t an awards-projection thing but a personal, preferential rundown of films that went ding-ding-ding-DING-DING-DING! Films that felt extra-ballsy or extra-refined, seemed the most beautiful, struck the target dead-center, delivered the most pizazz, generated the most excitement, felt the fullest and most formidable, exhibited the finest forms of discipline, etc. And in this order. BTW: I’m sure I’ve overlooked a deserving title or two…please advise.

Six years ago we all submitted to Tom Hooper‘s musical Les Miserables, and at the end of that long award-season ride Anne Hathaway had her Oscar but thousands were drained, spent, exhausted. When it was all over I knew I would never, ever watch that film again. (I didn’t think it was all that problematic, mind — I just found it taxing.). Now it’s back again as a BBC six-hour miniseries, shorn of all music and lyrics and culturally reimagined with David Oyelowo as Javert, Dominic West as Jean Valjean and Lily Collins in Hathaway’s role. Plus the great Olivia Colman! Directed by Tom Shankland, adapted by Andrew Davies. BBC One in England, Masterpiece PBS in the States.

I don’t know how to react to an Indiewire report about Wes Anderson‘s latest, The French Dispatch, a 20th Century journalism saga with three parallel storylines and set in Paris. Shooting recently began in Angoulême, France. The ensemble cast includes Timothee Chalamet, Bill Murray, Benicio del Toro, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright and Tilda Swinton.

Bullshit HE speculation: Pic is set sometime in the early days of the French nouvelle vague (’59 or ’60). Just a thought, just a guess, insect antennae, etc.

Will The French Dispatch follow the lead of my favorite Anderson film of the last few years, The Grand Budapest Hotel? I liked ghat 2014 film because it came close to stepping outside of “Andersonville,” that carefully styled, ultra-hermetic world that Wes’s films and characters always reside in. Wes will always be Wes, but I’m craving darker, heavier subject matter. In ’07 I suggested that he remake Jean-Luc Godard‘s Weekend.

“I’d really like to see an Anderson flick about adult characters dealing with adult-type stuff. They can act like adolescents all they want, but enough with the precious adolescents and stop-motion animals and robots and bright young obsessives with father issues. We need a Wes movie about guys in their late 30s or 40s who don’t come from inherited wealth and have had to scrap to survive and who ride motorcycles and fuck well and have more or less found their place in life.” — from a 3.23.12 HE post called “End of Phase One.”

I’ve been hearing about Robert Zemeckis‘s Welcome to Marwen (Universal 12.21) since last summer. It opens on 12.21 (19 days hence) and I haven’t heard zip about screenings.

We all know the drill: It’s about the true saga of Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell), a photographer and model builder who was attacked 18 years ago by a group of neo-Nazi ruffians. (Hogan camp went to a blue-collar bar and brilliantly mentioned being a cross-dresser.) He suffered severe brain damage and a near-complete loss of memory, and had to re-learn how to walk and speak. As a form of therapy he created a small-scale, World War II-era Belgian village which became a kind of alternate-universe environment for the guy.

2. Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood — A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie).

9. Joe Wright‘s The Woman in the Window — An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors only to witness a disturbing act of violence. (AmyAdams, WyattRussell, GaryOldman, JulianneMoore)

10. All You Need Is Love (aka “Untitled DannyBoyle/RichardCurtis Film”) — Set to the music of the Beatles, it’s about a musician who thinks he’s the only one who can hear the Beatles’ music. (Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Ana de Armas, Kate McKinnon, Lamorne Morris) Sheeran plays himself discovering a rising young musician. Mckinnon plays a talent agent. Hamesh Patel costars.

14. Aaron Schneider‘s Greyhound — During World War II, an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by Commander Ernest Krause (TomHanks), cross the treacherous North Atlantic while being hotly pursued by wolf packs of German U-boats. (Elisabeth Shue, Karl Glusman, Stephen Graham)

15. Gavin Hood‘s Official Secrets — The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. (Matthew Goode, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes)

16. David Michod‘s The King — (Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn, Robert Pattinson, Lily-Rose Depp) Adaptation of WilliamShakespeare‘s HenryIV, PartsIandII and HenryV. Chronicles the early 1400’s medieval struggle between England and France, both in succession as well as on the battlefield. TimotheeChalamet as Henry V rises to the English throne after beating the French in the Battle of Agincourt. (Froench king is played by RobertPattinson.) Oscar bait. Brad Pitt produces. Netflix.

17. David Gordon Green‘s Newsflash — On November 22, 1963 CBS newsman Walter Cronkite grapples with reporting on live television about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Texas. Not starring Seth Rogen as Cronkite (and thank God!), but possibly costarring Mark Ruffalo, Logan Lerman.

18. John Lee Hancock‘s The Highwaymen — Based on the true story of how two retired Texas Rangers put together the posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde — not as depicted in the ’67 Arthur Penn film. PaulNewman and RobertRedford were originally set to play the two leads before Newman’s health failed. (Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, Kathy Bates, Kim Dickens)

19. Rupert Goold‘s Judy — Biopic of JudyGarland‘s battle with drug addiction and divorce in London in 1968, one year before her death. LizaMinnelli has come out publicly against the film and against ReneZellweger playing her mother. (Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Jessie Buckley)

25. Roger Michell‘s Blackbird — A terminally ill mother arranges to bring her family together one last time before she dies. (Kate Winslet, Lindsay Duncan, Rainn Wilson, Susan Sarandon)

26. James Gray‘s Ad Astra — Astronaut Roy McBride travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. (Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Ruth Negga)

28. Dexter Fletcher‘s Rocketman — Elton John biopic, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. (Richard Madden, Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jamie Bell)

30. Tom Harper‘s The Aeronauts — Pilot Amelia Wren and scientist James Glaisher find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a hot air balloon. (Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tim McInnerny)

32. Julie Taymor‘s The Glorias: A Life on the Road — GloriaSteinem‘s itinerant childhood and its influence upon her life as a writer, activist and organizer for women’s rights worldwide. (Alicia Vikander, Lulu Wilson, Julianne Moore, Bette Midler)

33. Craig Brewer‘s Dolemite Is My Name — The story of performer Rudy Ray Moore, who assumed the role of an iconic pimp named Dolemite during the 1970s. (Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Keegan-Michael Key, Craig Robinson)

34. Steven Soderbergh‘s The Laundromat — A group of journalists unearth the Panama Papers — 11.5 million files linking the world’s most powerful political figures to secret banking accounts to avoid taxes. (Gary Oldman, Melissa Rauch, Meryl Streep, Robert Patrick)

35. Kasi Lemmons‘ Harriet — The story of Harriet Tubman, who helped free hundreds of slaves from the South after escaping from slavery herself in 1849. (Janelle Monáe, Deborah Ayorinde, Cynthia Erivo, Joe Alwyn).

39. Joe Berlinger‘s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile — A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years. (Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Haley Joel Osment, Kaya Scodelario)

40. Justin Kurzel‘s The True History of the Kelly Gang — The story of Australian bush-ranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s, based on Peter Carey’s novel. (Charlie Hunnam, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult)

41. Rod Lurie‘s The Outpost — Abut the 2013 Battle of Kamdesh in which Taliban forces attacked a U.S. outpost. The result of the battle was a pyrrhic victory as most the the outpost was destroyed (8 Americans killed, 27 wounded) but Taliban forces retreated due to losses of over 150 Taliban fighter killed during the battle. Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha (Scott Eastwood) and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter (Caleb Landry Jones) were both awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 for courageous actions. Orlando Bloom also stars.

43. Fernando Meirelles‘ The Pope — Opposing visions between two of the most powerful leaders in the Catholic Church, both of whom must address their own pasts and the demands of the modern world in order to move the church forward. (Juan Minujín, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Matthew T. Reynolds)

44. Casey Affleck‘s Light of My Life — Father and daughter escape to the woods trying to outrun a deadly pandemic that has ravaged and destroyed the world. Also written by Affleck. (Casey Affleck, Elisabeth Moss, Tom Bower, Timothy Webber)

46. Max Winkler‘s Jungleland — A reluctant bare-knuckle boxer and his manager must travel across the country for one last fight, but an unexpected travel companion exposes the cracks in their bond along the way. (Charlie Hunnam, Jessica Barden, Jack O’Connell, John Cullum)

47. Mia Hansen-Løve‘s Bergman Island — An American filmmaking couple who retreat to Faro for the summer to each write screenplays for their upcoming films in an act of pilgrimage to the place. (MiaWasikowska, VickyKrieps, AndersDanielsenLie, JoelSpira.)

48. John Crowley‘s The Goldfinch — A boy in New York is taken in by a wealthy Upper East Side family after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (NicoleKidman, SarahPaulson, Finn Wolfhard, Ansel Elgort)

49. Adrian Noble‘s Mrs. Lowry and Son — (Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Spall, Stephen Lord) L.S. Lowry becomes a widely celebrated 20th century UK painter for his dark brooding landscapes and emaciated stick figures, but spends most of his life under the influence of his autocratic mother and dies a reclusive virgin.

51. Casey Affleck‘s Far Bright Star — Set in 1916, an aging cavalryman leads a team of men to hunt down the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. However, after an ambush in which most of the men are killed, the cavalryman must struggle to survive in the desert. (Joaquin Phoenix)

53. William Nicholson‘s Hope Gap — A family deals in the aftermath of the shock revelation that a husband plans to end his 29 year marriage to his wife. (Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, Josh O’Connor, Aiysha Hart)

54. Benh Zeitlin‘s Wendy — Set on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Zeitlin’s mythological story tells the tale of two children from different worlds fighting to maintain their grip on freedom and joy. (Tommie Lynn Milazzo, Shay Walker)

55. Bart Freundlich‘s After the Wedding — A manager of an orphanage in Kolkata travels to New York to meet a benefactor. (Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Will Chase)

56. James DeMonaco‘s Once Upon a Time in Staten Island — Allegedly a coming of age family drama set in the summer of 1982 on Staten Island. (Bobby Cannavale, Naomi Watts, Frank Grillo, Isabella Pisacane)

57. Dee Rees‘ The Last Thing He Wanted — A journalist quits her newspaper job and becomes an arms dealer for a covert government agency. (Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe, Toby Jones)

58. Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse — The story of an aging lighthouse keeper named Old who lives in early 20th-century Maine. (Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe)

60. Chiwetel Ejiofor‘s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind — A boy in Malawi helps his village by building a wind turbine after reading about them in a library book. (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aïssa Maïga, Joseph Marcell, Noma Dumezweni)

65. Pablo Larraín‘s The True American — A Bangladeshi Air Force officer looking to make his way in the United States is shot by an American terrorist out to kill Muslims in the aftermath of September 11th.

66. Josephine Decker‘s Shirley — A famous Horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple. (Elisabeth Moss, Michael Stuhlbarg, Logan Lerman, Odessa Young)

67. Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn‘s Normal People — Adaptation of the Irish novel by Sally Mooney. Two opposites meet in high school, then again at university and fall in love while struggling with the meaning of their relationship as they share devastating setbacks in their lives. (Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, Amit Shah, David Wilmot)

72. Paul Verhoeven‘s Benedetta — A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair. (Virginie Efira, Charlotte Rampling, Lambert Wilson, Olivier Rabourdin)

73. Untitled Miranda July Project — A woman’s life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they’re planning. (Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez, Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins)

74. Ciro Guerra‘s Waiting for the Barbarians — An honest magistrate in a small outpost of a large empire has a crisis of conscience and tries to lead a resistance when a military commander shows up to torture and murder the natives who pose no threat. The revered author J.M. Coetze won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Literary acolytes a little upset with Depp casting. (Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Mark Rylance, Harry Melling)

77. Jennifer Kent‘s The Nightingale — Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. (Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman)

78. Dome Karukoski‘s Tolkien –The formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. (Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Pam Ferris, Laura Donnelly)

79. Marjane Satrapi‘s Radioactive — A story of the scientific and romantic passions of Marie and Pierre Curie, and the reverberation of their discoveries throughout the 20th century. (Rosamund Pike, Anya Taylor-Joy, Aneurin Barnard, Sam Riley)

80. James Kent‘s The Aftermath — Post World War II, a British colonel and his wife are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction, but tensions arise with the German who previously owned the house. (Alexander Skarsgård, Keira Knightley, Jason Clarke, Kate Phillips)

83. Todd Robinson‘s The Last Full Measure — 34 years after his death, Airman William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr. (“Pits”) is awarded the nation’s highest military honor, for his actions on the battlefield. (Alison Sudol, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irvine)

85. Liz Garbus‘s Lost Girls — A mother searching for her missing daughter in Long Island makes a horrifying discovery in the woods where the murdered bodies of four girls have been dumped. (Amy Ryan, Gabriel Byrne, Lola Kirke, Dean Winters)

86. Andy Goddard‘s Six Minutes to Midnight — Influential families in Nazi Germany have sent their daughters to a finishing school in an English sea side town to learn the language and be ambassadors. (Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, James D’Arcy, Eddie Izzard)

Woody Allen‘s A Rainy Day in New York [in limbo at Amazon, allegedly streaming sometime in ’19)

22. Aaron Sorkin‘s Lucy and Desi — The lives and careers of television pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Probably not shooting yet — as of mid October 2018 they had not started. Producer friend says they’re still casting Desi. (Cate Blanchett) Possible 2020 release.

Untitled Harriet Tubman Project (HBO) — The life of Civil War-era activist HarrietTubman, who worked to liberate slaves in the American South by developing an a secretive system that allowed them to escape to freedom. Screenplay by Kirk Ellis. (Viola Davis, Mike Gassaway)